Route: Gowbarrow Fell
Area: Eastern Lake District
Date of walk: 15th September 2017
Walkers: Andrew
Distance: 5.0 miles
Ascent: 1,200 feet
Weather: Cloudy with sunny spells
I parked in the main National Trust car park below Aira Force and followed one of the paths up Aira Beck. There are good paths on both sides so it doesn’t matter which side of the beck you walk along, as there are several footbridges along the way
Aira Force was on good form after recent heavy rain, and from the viewing point I continued further upstream, passing several smaller waterfalls and eventually emerging onto open fellside
After an easy climb beside a dry stone wall I reached the summit of Gowbarrow Fell. The views from here are not particularly good, but the great glory of this walk is the views of Ullswater from the terraced path above the lake – one of the best miles in lakeland – and which I’d saved for last by walking the circuit in a clockwise direction
I passed by the Memorial Seat and Yew Crag, from where there is a fabulous panorama, though my arrival here coincided with a brief dull and overcast spell of weather, and I then made the gentle descent back to the Aira Force visitor centre
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Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
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The start of today's walk from the National Trust car park below Aira Force
I pass by some magnificent specimen trees, part of an old arboretum...
Aira Force
View from the bridge above the force as it plummets to the pool 70 feet below
I pass by a series of minor falls as I continue upstream
The path emerges from the woods onto open fellside
Looking back along the path towards Ullswater, out of sight from here
Parkgate Farm below Round How
Ullswater comes into view as I gain height
Blencathra in the background
Ullswater again
Looking back to Dockray...
Ullswater
Looking back down the path
The summit of Gowbarrow Fell, which is known as Airy Crag - this is the OS trig point marking the top
Having descended from Airy Crag, I follow a path heading east
Bonnie
The path then turns south in the direction of Ullswater...
Looking back along the path, with Penrith in the distance
The start of a wonderful mile above Ullswater
Sandwick Bay
Looking towards the foot of the lake
Hallin Fell
New views open up with each twist and turn of the path...
Yachts near Geordie's Crag
As I round the corner, attention turns to the head of Ullswater
The viewpoint cairn above Yew Crag...
...and the view from it
Aira Point and Lyulph's Tower
The tower was built in the 1780's as a hunting lodge
The path continues to descend gently below Gowbarrow Fell...
A final view of Ullswater before I arrive back in the woods below Aira Force
I cross the footbridge over Aira Beck
Back to the start of the walk
